Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

Longing

[lawng-ing, long-]

Example Sentences Origin

noun

strong, persistent desire or craving, especially for something unattainable or distant: filled with longing for home.

an instance of this: a sudden longing to see old friends.

adjective

having or characterized by persistent or earnest desire: a longing look.

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Longing is always a great word to know.

So is ort. Does it mean:

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English; Old English langung; see long², -ing¹

Related forms

long·ing·ly, adverb

long·ing·ness, noun

Synonyms
1. aspiration. See desire. 3. desirous, yearning.

Antonyms
1. apathy.

Example Sentences

There was an elegiac tone to much of his work, a heightened awareness of loss and longing and regret.

The goatee was gone, but the thin wisp of a moustache was evidence of my longing for manhood.

Even so, a short morning stroll was enough to leave your jean-clad correspondent longing for some chilly respite.

EXPAND

There was an elegiac tone to much of his work, a heightened awareness of loss and longing and regret.

The goatee was gone, but the thin wisp of a moustache was evidence of my longing for manhood.

Even so, a short morning stroll was enough to leave your jean-clad correspondent longing for some chilly respite.

But the message in this picture is that the cat may be longing for home or afraid to go home.

Then, even after years of abstinence, consuming a single drink can set off a powerful longing to imbibe more and more.

It's not exactly homesickness, since that implies a longing for the familiar.

It will fill readers with pangs of warmth and longing.

They have lifted my wistful longing for a fuller sense-life into a vivid consciousness of the complete being within.

Somewhere in between those two poles of existential longing lies ice cream.

Nicotine leaving the body caused the longing for the next smoke.

But our human longing to soar has often ended in tragedy.

Looking in another girls or guys eyes brings lust and longing at most.

Conceive the case of two rival wives each longing for the other's death.

If it commands our attention, it means it triggers a deep longing in our hearts, if not our flesh.

Times of ease and plenty can bring on the same longing.

Their hearts are filled with the same longing for a good life.

Maybe it's the battered economy that is driving the public's longing for a different era.

They can't shake off the longing for larger meaning.

If you are longing for a level playing field you should begin afresh.

Later themes dealt with the tragedies of war and longing for peace.

Geffen recited poems she had written about romantic longing and unhappy love.

Behind their beliefs is the hopeless longing for innocence.

The brain has developed a longing for information and staying connected.

It is really not easy to put his longing for music in a little drawer.

But his work is grounded in the verities of longing and lost love.

It appears that some observers are longing for the days where colleges acted in loco parentis.

Such language seems rooted in a nostalgic sense of longing for good times past.

Our human longing to mimic birds has often proved painful.

Mambety mixes neo-realism and fantasy to create a mood of unease and aimless longing.

Indeed, there seems an almost uniform longing for change in that direction.

Such is the traveler's promise to himself–the intrigue of place plants a seed of faraway longing.

Japanese is looking forward to you with longing eyes.

It could be the longing to return to a time when to stand as a man of charactor was the mean and sum of all things good.

COLLAPSE

Dictionary.com Unabridged

verb (used without object)

to have an earnest or strong desire or craving; yearn: to long for spring; to long to return home.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English longen, Old English langian grow longer, yearn after, summon; see long¹

Synonyms
See yearn.

verb (used without object)

Archaic. to be suitable or fitting.

Obsolete. to be the possession; belong.

Origin:
1150–1200; Middle English longen to be suitable or proper, belong, derivative of long on account (of), attributable (to), dependent (on), Old English gelang belonging (to), dependent (on); see along

Link To Longing

Collins

World English Dictionary

longing (ˈlɒŋɪŋ)

—n
1.	a prolonged unfulfilled desire or need

—*adj*
2.	having or showing desire or need: a longing look

'longingly

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

long

O.E. langian "to yearn, to seem long," lit. "to grow long," from P.Gmc. *langojanan (see long (adj.)). Related to O.N. langa, M.Du. langhen, O.H.G. langen, Ger. verlangen "to desire." Related: Longing, longingly.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

Long (lông), Crawford Williamson. 1815-1878.

American surgeon and pioneer anesthetist who was among the first (1842) to use ether as an anesthetic.

Word Dynamo By Dictionary.com

Searching for Longing?
How many words do you actually know?

FIND OUT

desire enwrap hanker heart homesick hope

Matching Quote

"Is there anything better than to be longing for something, when you know it is within reach?"

-Greta Garbo

Partners:Word Bloglines Citysearch The Daily Beast Ask Answers Ask Kids Life123 Sendori Thesaurus

About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help